>> this is "bbc world news." funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its global expertise to work for a wide range of companies.

what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news." >> isolated and under pressure, rupert murdoch is deciding if he will give evidence to a british parliamentary committee on the phone hacking scandal. rebecca brooks has said she will go there. what is the risk to rupert murdoch's global empire, especially in the u.s.? the government asks if it is fit and proper to own bskyb. > >> hello and welcome to gmt.

i am zeinab badawi. a memorial service for the afghan president's slain brother is marred by another attack on the same day the when it reveals civilian casualties and afghanistan have increased. as the funeral starts for big thumbs of the mumbai bomb attack, indian authorities blame terrorists for the blast that killed 20 and left dozens injured. hello and welcome to gmt. it is midday in london, 7:00 a.m. in washington, and the former editor of the "news of the world" newspaper has agreed to be questioned by british mp's over the phone hacking scandal. the committee is taking further steps. rupert murdoch's news corp. has a knowledge it cannot be business as usual and it has

dropped its full takeover bid, at least for now of bskyb. news international is refusing to comment on who may or may not appear before the mp's. nick clegg, deputy prime minister, has urged senior members to attend. >> my message is to do the decent thing. you cannot hide away from this level of public anguish and anger. when you are in that position of power, you are also accountable to millions of people who consume the product of your newspapers, television channels. make yourself available. if you feel you have been wrong. you feel you have been maligned,

the set the record straight. there are great opportunities to do that. >> that was deputy prime minister nick clegg. toby young joins us. we now know rebekah brooks, former "news of the world" and as her will appear before the committee. do you think rupert murdoch should? >> yes. he can be compelled to attend, if he remains in the country. i guess we will be keeping an eye on his private jet. >> he is under so much pressure, isn't he? he might have to give up the remaining british newspapers, "the sunday times" and the others. >> that seems likely. i have to say that seeing all the politicians, who were

sipping champagne at rupert murdoch's summer party two weeks ago, turning in. >> they did not know that the murdered teenager, milly dowler , had her phone had been to buy "news of the world." it is shocking. >> if it is true, journalists should be prosecuted and put in jail. rupert murdoch, who has done some good things in britain for newspapers and broadcasts -- >> like what? >> he has kept "the times" afloat. >> did he do it? it gave him a great deal of power and influence. people did not like that kind of

undemocratic power being demonstrated. >> yes, he has had an extreme power. he has not only use that power to support the conservative party and i do not think he has a strong political agenda. if it does, it plays second to his business interests. >> it is sometimes said he influenced tony blair to not join the euro. >> we owe him thanks then. >> he did not have a political path. >> he switched between parties. he put his support behind tony blair and 1997 and then switched back to the tories in 2009. had he had a consistent agenda, i think it would be more dubious.

>> he is the man at the top of news corp.. we know the phone hacking has taken place. these unethical practices in journalism -- how far is that culture endemic in news corp.? >> we do not know. it now looks as though the contagion is spreading to the united states, as well. again, without wishing to defend these practices, they are not confined to rupert murdoch's british papers. they are rife among all of them. the term, "journalistic ethics" is generally held to be an oxymoron. >> thank you for talking to us. let's look at some of the other stories making headlines. in india, the authorities are blaming terrorists for three

explosions on wednesday in the commercial capital of mumbai. 27 killed and dozens injured. the blast was in a densely populated part of mumbai. it has reawakened memories of the attacks in mumbai in 2008 in which 170 died. the home minister in india, p. chidambaram says the investigation will follow all leads. >> we are not pointing a finger at this stage at this group or that group. all leads will be followed without any pre determinations. no intelligence on the particular incident.

intelligence is connected every day, every hour. there was no intelligence regarding an attack in mumbai. >> that was p. chidambaram talking in india. we are joined from delhi by a professor of strategic affairs. professor, these terrorists -- homegrown or foreign terrorists? >> the large bulk of incidents have been by foreign terrorists. homegrown terrorism has come down sharply in the last few years. i guess, if it is not homegrown, it would be from the usual area that is pakistan.

>> is that believed, that the authorities will be taking? if so, what will that do for relations between india and pakistan? >> there will be tension, but the indian government, like the rest of the world, is aware that tourism has increased quite sharply in the last few years in pakistan. they are, in fact, more of a victim of terrorism than we are. i think it will try to talk it out and tried to put in place methods by which -- and try to put in place methods by which they stop this terror. >> you say changing their methods. didn't we hear that in november of 2008? the authorities bolstered

intelligence gathering and security after those attacks and this happened. doesn't this expose the weaknesses and vulnerabilities? >> it does not seem the nature of terrorism has changed. instead of sophisticated explosives, there improvised explosives, i.e.d.'s. these are used in various parts of india and used abroad. in afghanistan, for example. >> professor, thank you very much for talking to us. now to afghanistan, where there has also been an explosion inside a mosque in the southern city of kandahar. the blast took place during a memorial service for president hamid karzai's brother, ahmad wali karzai, who was killed this week. four people died in the blast, which is described as a suicide attack. it comes on the same day the united nations released the latest figures on civilian

casualties in the context of this year. they saw a spike in numbers with a 15% rise in the past six months compared to the same period last year. the annual report shows that 1,462 civilians have been killed in fighting since the beginning of the year. the un missions says 80% of those deaths were caused by insurgents and international forces in afghanistan. let's talk to our correspondent in the afghan capital. this reinforces concerns, perhaps, that kandahar is becoming more volatile after ahmad wali karzai's death. >> yes, that's right. that's the sense a lot of people are getting. the blast took place just after noon at one of the major mosque

s. the president was not there himself. all four of his remaining brothers were, as well as a number of senior afghan officials. it was a large gathering. we understand that the suicide bomber tried to enter the mosque. he was stopped at the entranced by security personnel. he detonated explosives. there's some suggestion the explosives were hidden inside his turban. a very daring attack coming just one day after the funeral of the president's half-brother. it raises concerns about the security situation. >> how has president karzai tried to fill the power vacuum left by his half-brother? >> he has moved very quickly to get another of his brother's in ahmad wali karzai's place and try to seize control. increasingly, people believe this is a loss that will be very

hard to get over. ahmad wali karzai was an influential leader. he belonged to a powerful drive. he was seen as someone who offered the present political and economic support from a part of the country that very critical to afghanistan's future and stability. with him gone and with nato forces beginning to withdraw gradually within the next several months, it's a very critical moment in afghanistan. this killing really could not have come at a worse time. >> thank you for that update from kabul. several people have died and more than two dozen injured after violence erupted in karachi overnight on wednesday. unidentified gunmen fired indiscriminately. the venezuelan president has

acknowledged he will need more treatment for cancer. mr. chavez says the threat of malignant cells spreading remains and he may need to undergo chemotherapy. the legal team of the chinese artist an activist ai wei has been told his company did not pay taxes for a decade. before the hearing, his wife said the proceedings were funny. coming up on gmt, we will go live to the open in england. >> in ireland, the government has published annual report into the concealment of child abuse by catholic priests, uncovering

serious things. it says the church cares more about its reputation than the welfare of children. also says that only three years ago, reports of abuse were still kept from the police. mark simpson has more on this story. right handhe pope's man. he was not just personal secretary to john paul ii, but today he stands accused of involvement in the irish catholic church's latest scandal. in his diocese, clerical child sex abuse took place, but was not reported to the police. it happened as recently as three years ago at a time when the irish catholic church was telling the world there would never be another cover up.

after revelations of irish catholic pedophile priest in the early 1990's, new guidelines were put in place to make sure all allegations were reported to the police. employee in the rules were largely ignored. for those who complained to the church -- the lack of action made them feel helpless. >> i see it as really being touched by the devil. nobody wrote really fix me. >> the catholic church and i went is not only -- catholic church in ireland is not only losing followers, but a special place. he admitted he could have done more to help some victims of abuse and said he was sorry. mark simpson, bbc news. >> you are watching gmt from

"bbc world news." i am zeinab badawi. let's bring you our top headlines. rebekah brooks, former "news of the world" editor has agreed to answer questions on the phone hacking scandal that has involved rupert murdoch's news corp. a suicide attack on this afghan mosque during the memorial service for president hamid karzai's half-brother in kandahar has killed five people. now, the business news. it is all about debt. >> starting with the u.s. the clock is ticking. . 2, the united states, the world's largest economy, will run out of money. we know republicans and

democrats have been at loggerheads, trying to reach a compromise. u.s. debt its limit of $14.3 trillion on may 16. to borrow more money, they have to increase that limit. they have to go beyond $14.3 trillion. the republicans wanting democrats to spencut spending on social welfare. the democrats want to raise taxes on the rich. the republicans do not agree to that. they say that will limit investment and dampen growth. congressional leaders have been meeting day in and day out and they still have not got to a compromise. because of that, and moody's, the credit rating agency, has put the u.s. aaa credit rating on review for possible downgrade. they are worried the u.s. could default. fed chairman ben bernanke gave his starkest warning yet about

the implications of a u.s. default. >> if we went so far as to default on the debt, it would be a major crisis. the treasury security is viewed as the most statist and most liquid in the world. it's the foundation for much of our financial system. the notion that it would suddenly become unreliable and illiquid with wrote shockwaves through the global financial system. >> if that's not enough pressure, china is piling on the pressure. the reason, china holds more u.s. debt than any other country in the world. that is making them very nervous. this is a statement from the foreign ministry. "we hope the u.s. government adopts responsible policy and measures to ensure the interest of its investments." china is very worried. i asked one expert earlier what the implications would be for

china if the u.s. was to have even a short-term default. >> holding all of that treasury paper means that they will not get their interest payments. they may not get their money back. that is the worst-case scenario. what we think, of course, is that some sort of compromise will be reached by august 2. on. on august 3, we will have problems with payments. what we're looking at now is brinkmanship. both sides, democrats and republicans, think the other damaged bye more st this. the question is, will they take it too far? >> going from those u.s. debt issues to debt issues being a big deal in italy today. over $7 billion has been raised

in a bond auction, but it will have to pay much higher interest rate on that debt then at the previous sale last month. in fact, it has hit the highest interest level to date. it all reflects fears that the nation could still be a victim to the eurozone crisis, despite the government's efforts to introduce a fresh austerity package. that is something the senate will vote on today. the chief economist at bnp says those measures may not be enough. >> there are two factors at play right now. it has had a huge debt mountain for as long as i can remember. this is nothing new. what is new, basically, is the fact that markets are applying pressure. the second factor that is complicating things -- what happens at the european level? the fact that europe is being

very slow in tackling the euro crisis is hurting a number of countries. it is pushing up the interest rates, hence making the servicing of the debts much more difficult. italy can do a lot. spang can do a lot. it also depends on what european politicians do. >> some news is just out. the latest bank earnings season is underway. j.p. morgan is the first. it posted improved profits. it reported net profit of almost $5.5 billion. the gain came thanks to charges for bad loans. i want to show you european numbers. they are in the dumps. the u.s. dollar is also in the dumps. even fell against the hard hit euro at the moment. gold is at a record high. all of the markets are focused

on two things, the eurozone and the u.s. there are a lot of worries out there at the moment. >> you have done a lot of explaining. >> thank you. >> thank you very much for the business news. some sports now. after all the focus on 20-year- old rory macaroy, he has started his first round at royal st. joseph's. how is he doing so far? >> he is doing ok. he struggled a bit at the start. he dropped two shots in the first three holes. conditions are not easy. it's a typical summer british seaside weather. by that i mean a little bit of

rain and plenty of wind. key for mcilroy is how he copes. one year ago, when it got wendy and difficult, he struggled. he is one over par at the moment. the nice things about conditions like this is it brings out the most in the experienced golfers. a couple of years ago, tom watson almost onwon the open at 59. eight years ago, his confidence was really shattered. to find him at the top of the leader board is a great story already. >> tiger woods is out of the picture because he is injured.

what about some of the other players? >> world number one has not won any of the major championships. he is going along pretty steadily. he was 1 under par the last time i look. the real hope for american golf is ricky. he has blond hair and a real youthful image. >> joe wilson in england. typical english summer, as you .aid, with their br rain we're almost out of time on gmt. you can read much more on all our stories, including the british phone hacking revelations'. go to our website. i am zeinab badawi. good bye for now.

>> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank.

>> union bank has put its global financial strength to work for aide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news america" was >> "bbc world news america" was presented by kcet los angeles.